Standard Operating Procedure (2008)

Standard Operating Procedure (R)

"Say Cheese"

Important documentary regarding the Abu Grahib prison scandal of the early War on Terror, actually told by those who perpetrated and were blamed for it.  Erroll Morris (Fog Of War) pulls no punches in parsing the facts and figures and the gray area of morality that allowed this black hole of morality to squander any or all of the world's post-9/11 sympathies.  Told through the pictures that broke the scandal, the stories and photos are still unforgettable and stomach churning.  The film speaks less to the zeal and bloodlust of the general US public and it's leaders after the NY Trade Center attacks than the condition of the lowly soldier far down on the totem pole following orders, orders both direct and ambiguous.  From there emerges the bigger picture of CIA spooks, cabinet members and, yes, Presidents of the free world.

Featuring only the scapegoats for on-camera interviews is not by omission but necessity, yet Morris keeps objectivity in the viewfinder and prevents

7.5 Digital Cameras were new then, try not to feel old out of 10 (GOOD)